Twenty-seven year old Boston "spinster" Roxanne Hayward helps herself to her adoring father's cashbox and heads to San Francisco, in search of fame and fortune in the theatre.
Her hopes are dashed when she's robbed on the banks of the wide Missouri, half a country away from her destination. With no other option, she reluctantly joins a wagon train headed west, led by rugged trail guide Seth Booker. She will be, it seems, a cook and laundress.
Not surprisingly, the stern wagonmaster and spoiled heiress don't hit it off, and things only get worse for "Annie"--as Booker insists on calling her--as the train moves relentlessly west, over mountains, across washed out roads, and perilous river crossings.
It's a dangerous and miserable trip, and Annie's frequent battles with her new employer often end up with her across his knee.
